Bookvica

[SCOPES MONKEY TRIAL] “Obez’iannii” protsess v Amerike [i.e. Monkey Trial in America]

Poletika, N.

Moscow; Leningrad: Gosudarstvennoe izdatel’stvo, 1926. Item #1523

104 pp.: ill.
20,5x14,5 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Small tears of spine,
some soiling and creases of covers, some foxing, small blank fragment
of t.p. lost, otherwise very good.
Signed by the author on the title page.
First and only edition. One of 5000 copies. Rare.
For Soviet mass consciousness, this American case when a
religious group attacked the theory of evolution was close to other acts
of violence adopted by the church. So it was immediately denounced in
the atheist state. In this book, Soviet historian and economist Nikolai
Poletika (1896-1988) retells the trial process and elaborates on
fundamental Christianity stressing its class (bourgeois) nature.
Poletika was appointed “own correspondent” of ‘Leningradskaia
Pravda’ from London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Rome, Washington and other
capitals of the world – actually, he had to base on foreign newspapers
and write without leaving the USSR. In 1928, Poletika made a report
on the origin of World War I and a more than two-hour report caused a
great public reaction. He was one of the first Soviet scholars to seriously
study the history of the outbreak of the First World War on an extensive
documentary basis. His books were published and reprinted until he
managed to emigrate to Israel in 1973. After that, his name and input
were hushed up.
Cover design was created by Evgenii Belukha (1889-1943). In
1912-1913 he studied at the Higher Art School of Painting, Sculpture
and Architecture, then at a studio of V. Shukhaev in 1918. Initially,
Belukha worked under the pseudonym E. Nimich. He designed books,
primarily using lithography and etching.

Worldcat shows
copies located
in Princeton,
Wisconsin
and Harvard
Universities.

Price: $750.00